Trump administration lifts stop-work order on invasive carp barrier

Melissa Nann Burke and Craig Mauger, The Detroit News on Sep 2, 2026

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WASHINGTON — Federal officials lifted a stop-work order Wednesday, Sept. 2, that had halted construction on a state-federal project in Joliet, Illinois, meant to block invasive carp from reaching the Great Lakes.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office said Wednesday it had been notified of the change by the White House and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Army Corps had issued the stop work order in July as the project went under administration review, though the Corps has declined to answer why the order was issued, who was conducting the review or how long the review was expected to last.

Whitmer's office said the stop-work order on the Brandon Road Interbasin Project was lifted after the governor spoke Wednesday to Trump, asking him to do so. Whitmer “underscored the urgency of the moment, noting that invasive carp were recently found just 80 miles from Lake Michigan — farther up the Illinois River than ever recorded,” said a readout from Whitmer's office.

The Brandon Road Lock and Dam project is designed to prevent invasive carp and other aquatic invasive or nuisance species from moving upstream to the Great Lakes while still allowing people and the shipping industry to use the Des Plaines River. The project plans multiple layers of deterrents, such as an electric barrier and a bubble curtain.

Construction was approved to start on the lock and dam complex in 2024, when Illinois signed on to an agreement with Michigan and the federal government. At the time, the project was estimated to cost more than $1 billion, with the Army Corps footing 90% of the cost and the rest split between Michigan and Illinois.

The project had been in planning for a decade, but the lock and dam complex has been bogged down by political fights since construction began. Trump threatened to withhold funding from the project in August 2025 because Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker hadn't requested funding like Whitmer had, according to Chicago Tribune reporting.The project was then placed on hold by the Trump administration in December while it was under review.

In April, the Corps announced the next phase of work would begin and awarded a $113.8 million contract to a Wisconsin company to build deterrents. At the same time, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle announced management of the project would be transferred from the Corps' Rock Island District to the Detroit District. On social media, Telle described Illinois as an "unreliable partner," a claim Pritzker disputed.

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(Staff writer Carol Thompson contributed.)